 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi,
I'm looking for a bit of advice really  . My husband and I are in the process of trying to rent an apartment/chalet for the season. When skiing in France we normally ski in the three valleys or espace killy. We had hoped to find something in these ski areas within our budget that could accomodate six people (family & friend visitors) but this is proving difficult. We can however find some great accomodation in Les Houches or Chamonix.
We regularly visit Cham in Summer and know just how bad the traffic can be then. We were wondering if anyone had any experience (times/stories)of:
The Snow
Ease of moving between the mont blanc resorts
Doing a season in Cham valley (particulary Les Houches)?
We're taking time out from careers so this is a bit "once in a lifetime" for us and we want to select the right resort!
Thank you!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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A few years back I went to Cham in March. We stayed in the resort, but drove down to Les Houches for a day, up to Le Tour, and Argentiere. I don't remember the traffice being too bad, and it was great to have the seperate resorts nearby.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Lj, if you can rent an apartment in Chamonix you're very lucky. My sons worked in Chamonix for the best part of a year and had real difficulty finding anywhere decent at a reasonable rent. You'll probably find Les Houches a better option for availability of property. The shuttle bus service connecting the various resorts is very good, naturally at peak times the queues are longer and it takes more time although I've never forund any delays in driving between any of the Cham valley resorts and we were always able to find somewhere to park. In my opinion if you're going to spend some serious time in the valley you need to be Chamonix itself, failing that Argentiere. Les Houches always struck me as being out of the mainstream of Chamonix skiing, nothing wrong with that it was just the place we went to when we wanted an easy day's skiing. Wherever you go, good luck and I hope you have a super time.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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We have stayed in Chamonix and travelled to Les Houches and to the other main areas. Even at Feb half term there was no problem - 15/20 minutes ish to wherever. Both times we had use of a car, we did try the buses and though they were frequent, they did get busy (and parking is free most places).
Les Houches wasn't included in the Chamski pass, but that was the week long types and there may be different arrangements for the longer term visitors like yourselves.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| David@traxvax wrote: |
| Lj, if you can rent an apartment in Chamonix you're very lucky. |
They will certainly be lucky to spend a season there. It is a proper town so a better bet than some of the resorts. I spent a season there and appartments can be found, I would look on the Pages Jaunes for immobilier and contact the ones with 'locations'. We used one near the casino on the road that leads to Cham south and it wasn't that dear for the season. You need to look NOW though.
Traffic? It is not a problem but get somewhere with off-street parking or a garage.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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Thank you, it's great to hear about real experiences!
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The Snow? Most of the Grand Montets(Argentiere) is skiable all of the season....same too for Le Tour. Brevent/Flegeres becomes iffy in March as it gets so much sun. Les Houches can guarantee top to bottom skiing with artificial snow.
Ease of moving between the mont blanc resorts? Own car.....fine, but they are still working on the new dual carriageway from LH into Cham. A few bottlenecks during high season. Bus? you have to change in Chamonix....so depends on how many people are waiting there.
Doing a season in Cham valley (particulary Les Houches)?
If you have your own transport don't think only of the Cham valley.....there are lots of other areas to visit...Megeve, Combloux, Flaine,Courmayeur....about 30/45mins from Les Houches. LH has started talking about rejoining the Cham Valley liftpass. It may not happen this season....last season their early-bird season pass was a steal at 199euros. Check out the webpages for info on the different types of season pass....there was one covering the M-B area which included LH.
Great supermarket in LH!
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From my experience of spending many summers there, I'd also look at staying in Argentiere. It is calmer than Cham itself and has most facilities (no gym/swimming pool as far as i know). Closer to the Grand Montets and Tour as well.
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